WASHINGTON, July 24 (UPI) -- The primary race between Republican U.S. presidential hopefuls appears to be narrowing, say political analysts.
The campaign of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., once seen as GOP heir apparent, is nearly bankrupt, The Christian Science Monitor reported Tuesday.
Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani still leads in national polls, but his numbers have been falling steadily for several months in proportion to the steady rise of former Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., reported Pollster.com.
Thompson, an actor and former lobbyist, is hiring staff, raising money, making public appearances and doing well in the polls even though he has yet to announce he's in the race, The Monitor reported.
The GOP primary race could end up between Thompson and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, analysts say.
Thompson is the "only one that everyone in the party can live with," said John Geer, a political scientist at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. "Romney will get some people upset; Giuliani will get some people upset. Thompson doesn't face that. That's his big asset."
